Sebastien Ogier looks set to end his World Rally Championship season with a flourish after an error from Jari-Matti Latvala helped him seize a sizeable advantage heading into the final day of the Wales Rally GB.
Ogier, who has already been crowned world champion, held the edge over his Volkswagen team-mate after a pulsating day one of racing, but Latvala's mistake on Saturday's opening stage dropped him back.
The Finn slid into a ditch to lose over three minutes and from there on in, it was damage limitation and he ended the day in eighth place.
With no pressure on his shoulders, Ogier was able to open up a lead of 58.1 seconds over closest challenger Mikko Hirvonen.
The Frenchman, who will be hoping to claim the eighth win of his season on Sunday, said on www.wrc.com: "It wasn't an easy day because the roads were very slippery, especially in the final stage in the dark.
"I have a comfortable lead so I just need to drive the same way and try to cross the finish line."
Finland's Hirvonen, Kris Meeke and Norway's Mads Ostberg were involved in a tense battle to claim second, with the competitors trading places in almost every stage.
Hirvonen eventually won the battle heading into Sunday in his Ford Fiesta RS, where he holds a 3.4- second lead over Meeke.
Ostberg lies 39.7 seconds behind Meeke as he paid the price for a 10-second penalty for checking in late at a time control and a delaminated tyre, which cost him a further a 15 seconds.
Thierry Neuville took advantage of Ostberg's problems and lies just 3.3 seconds behind in fifth.
